Theories
of media and democracy, entailing concepts like the "public sphere"
and "civil society", have been extensively used in Western societies.
In contrast, analysis of the role of Africa's media in democratisation has been
patchy and lacking in theoretical foundation. By extensively re-working some
of the theorisation that is born of societies with rather different media conditions
to Africa, some useful insights can be gained about the processes on this continent,
particularly in Southern Africa. In particular, such re-engineered theory can
help provide an analysis of contemporary issues regarding media freedom, the
growth of private media, the contests around government-controlled media, and
the deregulation of broadcasting in Africa. In addition, such re-worked theory
helps contextualise the gender character of Africa's media and the significance
of the Internet for democracy on the continent.